Throughout human history
people have wondered how to
truly understand God, to get a
picture of Who He is and what
His relationship with mankind
looks like. One of the recurring
challenges to this understanding
has been accepting the
reality of His declarations to
His people. When He says that
He will do something, or not do something, the
natural reaction of those who receive this
message has been to wonder if He is serious.

Many of God’s statements of promise have
carried with them a condition relating to how men
and women respond to His words. Sometimes
when those words are heard, or read, we may
wonder if He will indeed carry through on His
promises. However, in the study of scripture we
find the oft-repeated theme that one of the most
important characteristics of God is that He is
faithful. He is Who He says He is, and
He will do what He says He will do.

Last week we spent some time in Chapter 3 of
Romans where Paul tells us, rather emphatically,
that indeed God is faithful. We considered what
the benefit would be if we, as humans, had a confident
belief in God that even blossomed into a
fully mature faith, only to discover that God was
not faithful, that He wasn’t really going to
follow through on what He promised.
What a devastating thought!

This Sabbath we will launch into Chapter 4 and
get a better understanding of just how serious
God is about having us understand that He
absolutely means what He says. He is the One
Who has created us, along with everything that is
in our world and beyond, yet He is also the God
Who knows the most deeply protected secret in
every single person. He is faithful in His cosmic
work to hold the world in space and He is faithful
to spark every beat of our hearts.

What a God! Yet somehow, we sometimes want to
know more. Is He really going to come again and
take us to live with Him forever?
Is Heaven really real after all?

In our sermon study we are going to see just how
serious God is in His desire for us to have faith in
Him. Our story will go all the way back to
Abraham and I am excited to share a passage of
scripture that underscores how firmly committed
God is for us to believe in His faithfulness.